Olsen



Feb. 21, 1956 w. OLSEN 2,735,167

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING A MEMBER TO A RESILIENT BODY Filed May 2, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 7 /I la? \XAA? FIG. 4 FIG. 5

y lo 2 INVENTOR WILLIAM OLSEN,

)RNEY Feb. 21, 1956 w. OLSEN 2,735,167

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING A MEMBER TO A RESILIENT BODY Filed May 2, 1950 ATT( )RNEY United States Patent IVIETHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING A MEMBER TO A RESHLIENT BQDY William Olsen, Elizabeth City, N. C.

Application May 2, 1950, Serial No. 159,546

2 Claims. (Cl. 29-433) My invention consists in a new and useful improvement in method of and apparatus for attaching a member to a resilient body, and is intended more particularly for attaching a tether to a golf ball to produce the necessary improvement to the captive golf ball apparatus for which United States Letters Patent Number 1,963,311 were granted to me. The use of a captive golf ball for practice shots is well known. Experience has shown that the very severe strain on the tether caused by a driven ball tends to separate the ball from the tether and defeat the purpose of preventing escape of the ball. The problem of attaching the tether to the ball in a connection which will not be severed by continued drives had not been solved, by any satisfactory method of attachment, prior to my invention of my improved method. It was the solution of this problem to which my invention was directed in order to provide the essential improvement to my patented apparatus. The essential features of my improved method are incising a helical passage through the ball without removing any material, compressing the incised material to produce a bore passing through the ball, disposing a portion of the tether in the bore, and relieving the compressed material which expands into gripping position about the portion of the tether within the ball. Another valuable feature of my improved method which is applicable to spherical bodies, such as balls, is distorting the body by compression to produce two parallel plane surfaces and producing a bore having a rectilinear axis normal to said surfaces, so that when the portion of the tether has been gripped in the ball and the ball, relieved of compression, returns to its spherical form, the portion of the tether in the ball assumes a curved position which increases the effectiveness of attachment. My improved apparatus, whereby my improved method can be practiced, comprises a cutter for incising the passage and a tube for compressing the incised material to produce the bore.

While I have illustrated in the drawings and have hereinafter fully described one specific embodiment of my invention, as to my improved apparatus, it is to be distinctly understood that I do not consider my invention, as to my apparatus, to be limited to said specific embodiment, but refer for its scope to the claims appended hereto.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the distender tube.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the cutter.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the tube and a side elevation of the cutter disposed in the tube.

Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section on the line 44 of Fig. 3, in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3, in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a compressed golf ball showing the cutter and tube entering the ball.

Fig. 7 is a greatly enlarged, fragmentary, vertical section of the ball shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 6 showing the tube passed through the ball, the cutter having been removed, and the tether passed through the tube.

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 7 showing the tether gripped in the ball after the tube has been removed from the ball.

Fig. 10 is a side elevation of the uncompressed ball showing, in dotted lines, the arcuate course of the portion of the tether gripped in the ball.

As illustrated in the drawings (Figs. 15), my improved apparatus comprises a cutter C and a distender tube T. The cutter C comprises a cylindrical stem 1, a shank 2 which is square in cross-section, and a head 3 which has a conical core 4 about which twists a helical blade 5 having a keen cutting edge 6. The tube T has a cylindrical bore 7, a tapered exterior 8, and a shank 9 which is square in cross-section and has a bore 10 therethrough which is square in cross-section. The bore 10 in the shank 9 connects with the bore 7 and is of slightly less diameter than the bore 7. It will be noted (Fig. 3) that when the parts are assembled the shank 2 of the cutter C is disposed in the bore 10, the stem 1 of the cutter C is in the bore 7, and the head 3 projects outwardly of the tube T. The parts are maintained in this relation by a collar 11 on the stem 1 of the cutter C which is seated at the inner end of the bore 7. It will also be noted that the taper of the tube T is such that its forward end 12 about the head 3 of the cutter 'C is quite thin to provide an entering circular wedge to immediately follow the head 3.

As illustrated in the drawings (Figs. 610), the operation of the apparatus in the practice of my improved method is obvious. The golf ball B, to which the tether 13 is to be attached, is compressed by any suitable means such as jaws J, J, having plane faces 14, so that its spherical form is so distorted as to produce parallel plane surfaces B-l and arcuate surfaces B-Z (Figs. 6, 8). The apparatus is applied to the ball B by pressing the cutter C against the ball B at a point on the junction of one surface B-l with its adjacent surface B-2. The apparatus is then rotated by any suitable means such as a brace (not shown) in which the shank 9 of the tube T is mounted. Rotation of the apparatus, with pressure exerted by means of the brace in a direction normal to the surfaces B-l, will cause the cutter C to incise a helical passage in the ball B. It will be noted (Fig. 7) that by reason of the resilient character of the material M of the ball B, the portion M-1 of the material M which has been cut is considerably compressed by passage of the cutter C, so that none of the material is removed by the cutter C and the end 12 of the tube T, immediately following the cutter C, further compresses the material M-1 to admit the tube T. This action is continued until the cutter C and the end 12 of the tube T emerge from the ball B. It will be noted (Fig. 8) that the bore formed through the distorted ball B by compression of the portion M1 of the material M has an axis normal to the surfaces B-l. The cutter C is then withdrawn from the tube T, passing outwardly through the end 12 of the tube T. The brace, having served its purpose of inserting the cutter C and the tube T through the ball B, is now removed from the shank 9. The end 13-a of the tether 13 is then passed through the tube T, being inserted through the end 12 of the tube T. (Fig. 8). The tube T is then removed from the ball B, its tapered exterior 8 facilitating removal, and the portion M-l of the material M, relieved of compression by the tube T, expands to grip the portion 13b of the tether 13 disposed in the ball B. It will be noted (Fig. 9) that the portion M-2 of the material M surrounding the portion 13-h is under compression caused by the mass of the portion 13-1) which displaces portion M-2 surrounding it. The ball B, being removed from the jaws J, J, resumes its spherical form (Fig. 10) thereby causing the bore produced by the tube T to assume an arcuate form and consequently the portion 13-]: of the tether 13 which is within theball B is curved which increases the tension 3 on the portion 13-h to increase the effectiveness of the attachment of the tether 13 to the ball B. It is obvious that the portion 13-0 (Fig. 8) of the tether 13 which passed through the shank 9 of the tube T can be cut 01f to leave the end 13a' closely adjacent the periphery of the ball B.

I prefer to use a tether composed of tough material, such as raw hide, and which has a rectangular crosssection of greater width than thickness. My purpose is to provide means for indicating faulty drives. Using a tether of this character the golfer, before he drives, is carefui that the tether is completely un-twisted. Then if he hooks or slices the ball, causing it to rotate, the hook or the slice will be indicated by the direction of twist of the tether caused by the rotation of the ball.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A method of engaging, in a golf ball, a portion of a flexible cord to serve as a tether for the ball, which con sists in squeezing the ball between two members having parallel plane surfaces thereby altering the spherical shape of the ball by elongating it parallel with said surfaces, forming a rectilinear bore through the squeezed elongated ball normal to said surfaces, inserting the portion of the cord through said bore, and releasing the ball to restore it to spherical form thereby causing the ball to grip the inserted portion by reason of said bore assuming an arcuate form.

2. In an apparatus for engaging, in a golf ball, a portion of a cord to serve as a tether for the ball, the combination of a cutting element having a stem, a head extending from one end of said stem, a shank extending from the other end of said stem, and a collar on the end of said stem from which said shank extends, said head comprising a conical core and a helical blade twisted about said core and having a keen puncturing point and an edge for cutting, and said shank being angular in cross-section; and a distender casing, in which said cutting element is removably mounted, said casing having an exteriorly tapered portion at one end and a cylindrical bore in said portion, and having a shank at its other end, said casing shank being angular in cross-section and having a bore angular in cross-section corresponding to the cross-section of the shank of the cutting element and communicating with said cylindrical bore, the diameter of the cylindrical bore being greater than that of the bore in the casing shank to provide a shoulder against which is received said collar on the stem of the cutting element.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 332,303 Valentine Dec. 15, 1885 851,399 Brownstein Apr. 23, 1907 1,142,820 Knauflf June 15, 1915 2,031,797 Tarbox Feb. 25, 1936 2,075,520 Hardesty Mar. 30, 1937 2,349,956 Gliss et al May 30, 1944 2,394,884 Adrias, 2d Feb. 12, 1946 2,491,776 Shelton Dec. 20, 1949 2,536,677 Brunner Jan. 2, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 501,548 Great Britain Mar. 1, 1939 847,141 France June 26, 1939 

